Priceline Hotel: 3* Hartford (Rocky Hill-Cromwell-Wethersfield) Crowne Plaza

chen · June 19, 2006

I'm taking the connecticut bar and I need a hotel room in Hartford for these dates. My max price is $150 a night. I would like 3* (but I'll settle for less) and my zone must be downtown Hartford and ideally close to the Connecticut Convention Center. It appears that the Hilton is sold out. Easyclicktravel has nothing.

I just had a seriously frustrating go at priceline.

Here's the results of my unsuccessful bidding strategy:

Goal:

downtown hartford (A)

Free rebid zones:

farmington - B

hartford south - C

manchester vernon - D

southington - E

Note, I closed priceline and reopened the window for each bid to maximize rebids:

Bid 1 $35

downtown hartford A

Bid 2 $37

downtown hartford A+B

farmington

Bid 3 $42

downtown hartford A+C

hartford south

Bid 4 $46

downtown hartford A+D

manchester vernon

Bid 5 $50

downtown hartford A+E

southington

Bid 6 $53

downtown hartford A+B+C

farmington

hartford south

Bid 7 $58

downtown hartford A+B+D

farmington

manchester vernon

Bid 8 $65

downtown hartford A+B+E

farmington

southington

Bid 9 $73 A+C+D

downtown hartford

hartford south

manchester vernon

Bid 10 $78 A+C+E

downtown hartford

hartford south

southington

Bid 11 $83 A+B+C+D

downtown hartford

farmington

hartford south

manchester vernon

Bid 12 $90 A+B+C+E

downtown hartford

farmington

hartford south

southington

Bid 13 $95 A+B+D+E

downtown hartford

farmington

manchester vernon

southington

Bid 14 $101 A+C+D+E

downtown hartford

hartford south

manchester vernon

southington

Bid 15 $125 A+B+C+D+E

downtown hartford

farmington

hartford south

manchester vernon

southington

Please help!!!!!!!

ps. I will be sure to use the savingsbarn link.

thenewbie · June 20, 2006

1) Bid higher next time; or

2) Look into another area

chen · June 20, 2006

Thanks for the insightful tip, dude. That was clearly the advice I was looking for. :)

ps. I can get the Crown Plaza for $189 or the Sheraton nearby for $150. I was just hoping someone would have some better suggestions.

thenewbie · June 20, 2006

You already seem to know how to rebid properly, so there wasn't much need for that advice.

Hotwire doesn't have any 3* availability in Downtown Hartford for your dates.

And since you "must" be downtown, the cheaper 3* alternatives in East Hartford and Bradley/Windsor are out of the picture. (The Sheraton is in priceline's E. Hartford area)

That leaves you with the appropriate advice given above.

thereuare · June 20, 2006

I can get the Crown Plaza for $189 or the Sheraton nearby for $150

Please remember we are affiliates of both:

Crowne Plaza

Sheraton

chen · June 20, 2006

I just tried the same strategy (basically 16 bids in 5-10 dollar increments) and got rejected from $35 all the way up to $135 for East Hartford too!

"We're sorry, but we couldn't find a hotel willing to accept your offer of $135 for a hotel room in the Hartford, CT area."

This sucks.

Thoughts? :)

grram1 · June 20, 2006

Looks like you've got the process nailed cold. I've been going through a similar situation for a Niagara falls bid for August 16-18. As you've hinted it looks like you'll just have to book a back-up direct and hope to have better luck as your dates approach (sorry I don't have something more profound :) ). As mentioned on a previous post Hotwire doesn't list any 3* hotels (yet) in the area you want on the desired dates. I did a mock search on Hotwire for the next couple of days (June 21-23) and a 3* for $85 came up; based on amenities: Restaurant, pool, fitness center, business center, it appears to be the Crowne Plaza. Hopefully you'll get lucky and inventories will open up as your date gets closer... I've never bid Hartford, but this seems to be routine in some other cities (seen this in Vegas many times). Good luck.

chen · June 20, 2006

Any ideas what this hotel is?

3-star hotel in Wethersfield - Rocky Hill - Cromwell

Best Value!

Amenities:

Restaurant(s)

Pool(s)

Fitness Center

High-speed Internet Access

Golf Nearby

Tennis Nearby

Business Center

thereuare · June 21, 2006

Dates?

chen · June 21, 2006

Sorry.

07/25/06 - 07/27/06

(same as my priceline post)

thereuare · June 21, 2006

Please keep all posts for the same stay in the same thread.

The above is a match for the Crowne Plaza Cromwell so that would be our best guess.

chen · June 21, 2006

Thank you both for the help!

I decided to settle out of area. Here's what I got.

Crowne Plaza Cromwell

Check-In Date: Tue, Jul 25, 2006

Check-Out Date: Thu, Jul 27, 2006

Check-Out Time: 12:00 PM

Your Offer Price: $55.00

Extend Your Stay

Number of Rooms: 1

Number of Nights: 2

Subtotal: $110.00

Taxes & Service Fees:

$22.14

Total Charges: $132.14

Here's my bidding history:

Bid 1 $35